--- description: Security officials crack down on Knights Templar cartel, seizes equivalent of 44 percent of country's iron ore export. title: Mexican Cartel Brought Down for Smuggling Iron Ore to China image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35fb887ceab10ae2/69868425cd804da265cc9983/mexico_steel_mine.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mexico Cracks Down on Cartel Smuggling Iron Ore to China by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 6, 2014 8:13 AM CUT  A truck clibs a road at a steel mine in the Aguililla community, in Michoacan State, Mexico, on Feb. 14, 2014 A truck clibs a road at a steel mine in the Aguililla community, in Michoacan State, Mexico, on Feb. 14, 2014Alfredo Estrella / AFP / Getty Images by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 6, 2014 8:13 AM CUT Cracking down on a drug cartel smuggling iron ore to China, Mexican security officials [have seized](http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/639f9a14-a4ce-11e3-9313-00144feab7de.html?ftcamp=published%5Flinks%2Frss%2Fhome%5Fus%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct&siteedition=intl#axzz2v3w7rf89 "undefined") 119,000 tonnes of the mineral. The operation was directed against the Knights Templar cartel in Mexico’s top iron ore-producing state Michoacán. Besides ore, officials seized 124 items of heavy machinery, closed 11 processing facilities and prepared to take action against five Chinese nationals working there. A senior government figure told the _Financial Times_ that mineral smuggling had become more profitable than drug running for the Knights Templar. Even though the government’s crackdown leaves the cartel unable to continue operations, he said there are “many” new cartels emerging. \[[FT](http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/639f9a14-a4ce-11e3-9313-00144feab7de.html?ftcamp=published%5Flinks%2Frss%2Fhome%5Fus%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct&siteedition=intl#axzz2v3w7rf89 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/13541/mexican-cartel-smuggles-iron-ore-to-china/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/13541/mexican-cartel-smuggles-iron-ore-to-china/"},"headline":"Mexico Cracks Down on Cartel Smuggling Iron Ore to China","datePublished":"2014-03-06T08:13:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:36:26.150Z","description":"Seizes haul equivalent to 44% of national iron ore exports last year","url":"https://time.com/13541/mexican-cartel-smuggles-iron-ore-to-china/","keywords":["China","Mexico","smuggling"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35fb887ceab10ae2/69868425cd804da265cc9983/mexico_steel_mine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Per Liljas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/per-liljas/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35fb887ceab10ae2/69868425cd804da265cc9983/mexico_steel_mine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"mexico_steel_mine","caption":"A truck clibs a road at a steel mine in the Aguililla community, in Michoacan State, Mexico, on Feb. 14, 2014","creditText":"Alfredo Estrella / AFP / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/13541/mexican-cartel-smuggles-iron-ore-to-china/","name":"Mexico Cracks Down on Cartel Smuggling Iron Ore to China"}}]}] ```